Sleeping device comprising an active heat absorbing/releasing layer in combination with a spacer material layer

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a sleeping device, such as a mattress, quilt or pillow, wherein the sleeping device is adapted to be used by a person during rest and comprises a core element, wherein said core element is covered by a first layer of a material having temperature regulating properties by absorbing and releasing heat and a second layer of down. By using a material with temperature regulating properties together with a layer of down filling, very good properties of minimizing temperature variations are obtained.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priorityto U.S. application Ser. No. 11/294,898, filed Dec. 6, 2005. Thecontents of the aforementioned application is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety for any purpose whatsoever.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a sleeping device, such as a mattress,pillow or quilt.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

During sleep the human body goes through different phases, and in thesephases the body temperature varies both as a result of internaltemperature changes in the body during sleep and because of variationsof the temperature in the surroundings. These temperature variationsdisturb the sleep. It is especially important in connection with thesleep that the most important phase—the REM phase—is undisturbed,because in this phase the brain is recharged and prepared for the nextwaken period. Another effect of the temperature changes is that thequilt covering the person is kicked off during sleep, which oftenresults in the person waking up later by freezing. Further, thetemperature changes might also result in a sweaty, wet mattress. In bothcases the temperature change does not only disturb the sleep, but mightalso result in sickness. New materials have been developed in an attemptto address special clothing and other thermal regulating systemrequirements. For example, micro-encapsulated phase change materialshave been described as a suitable component for substrate coatings whenexceptional heat transfer and storage capabilities are desired.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,904 substrates are described, which are coatedwith a binder containing microcapsules filled with energy absorbingphase change material. These microcapsules enable the substrate toexhibit extended or enhanced heat retention or storage properties.

Also by way of example, microencapsulated phase change materials havebeen described as a suitable component for inclusion in fibres, whenexceptional heat transfer and storage capabilities are desired. In U.S.Pat. No. 4,756,958 a fibre with integral micro spheres filled with phasechange material or plastic crystals has enhanced thermal properties atpredetermined temperatures. This document further teaches that suchfibres may be woven to form a fabric having the enhanced thermal storageproperties.

Generally speaking, phase change materials have the capability ofabsorbing or releasing thermal energy to reduce or eliminate heattransfer at the temperature stabilizing range of the particulartemperature stabilizing material. The phase change material inhibits orstops the flow of thermal energy through the coating during the timewhere the phase change material is absorbing or releasing heat;typically during the material's change of phase. This action istransient; i.e. it will be effective as a barrier to thermal energyuntil the total latent heat of the temperature stabilizing material isabsorbed or released during the heating or cooling process. Thermalenergy may be stored or removed from—the phase change material, and caneffectively be recharged by a source of heat or cold. By selecting anappropriate phase change material, a substrate can be coated or a fibremanufactured incorporating a phase change material for use in aparticular application where the stabilization of temperatures isdesired.

One approach of solving the above-mentioned sleeping problem is byintroducing a layer of phase change material above the core of thesleeping device such as the mattress, pillow or quilt. A phase changematerial has the ability of absorbing and releasing heat to/from saidbody depending on the temperature of the body during sleep, and by usingphase change material in the sleeping device it is the intention thattemperature variations of the body should be minimized during sleep. Aproblem with this solution is that during sleep moist from the body isgenerated, and the moist is then absorbed in the layer following thephase change material which typically could be the core of a mattress ora layer of synthetic filling between the core and the phase changematerial. The moist decreases the effect of the phase change materialconsiderably, whereby the introduction of the phase change material doesnot sufficiently solve the problem of minimizing the temperaturevariations during sleep.

OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a sleepingdevice solving the above-mentioned problems.

This is obtained by a sleeping device, such as a quilt, pillow ormattress comprising a core element, wherein said core element is coveredby a first layer of a material having temperature regulating propertiesby absorbing and releasing heat and a second layer of spacer material.

By using a material .with temperature regulating properties togetherwith a layer of spacer material, very good, properties of. minimizingtemperature variations are obtained. By using a spacer material, moistcan easily vanish because of air circulation from the: surroundings, andby minimizing the moist tests have shown that the functionality oftemperature regulating materials such as e.g. phase change materials isimproved considerably. Thereby, the temperature regulating material canbe used to fulfill the quite strict requirements to temperaturevariation which is necessary in order to get an undisturbed sleep—andespecially an undisturbed REM sleep. Further, by using the temperatureregulating material in the sleeping device, such as the mattress, it isavoided that the user gets sick, both because a better sleep improvesthe immune system and because the risk of the person unintentionallykicking off the quilt or making the mattress wet because of sweat isreduced. Further, since the risk of the mattress getting sweaty isreduced, the frequency of which the mattress and/or mattress covershas/have to be cleaned can be reduced.

Examples of spacer material are distance mess, a 3mesh® product fromMuller Textil. By using this product it is possible to adjust thehardness and the spring characteristics.

In an embodiment the temperature regulating material comprises a phasechange material. This material has proven to be a good material to beused in a sleeping device and can be adapted to optimally minimize thetemperature variations in temperature ranges around the human bodytemperature.

In an embodiment the sleeping device further comprises a third layer ofdown above said second layer. Compared to e.g. fiber filling, downfilling has very good moist absorbing properties, and this thereforefurther reduces the moist and improves the functionality of the phasechange layer.

In an embodiment the sleeping device further comprises a fourth layer ofspacer material, said fourth layer being positioned on the opposite siteof the core element in relation to the second .layer, whereby eachspacer-material covers :each side of said core element. This ensuresthat moist from both-sides of said sleeping device is minimized becauseof a possible air circulation around the sleeping device.

In an embodiment the third layer of down comprise goose downs. Goosedowns have proven to be very good at absorbing moist, whereby thefunctionality of the temperature regulating material is improved.

In an embodiment the second layer has a thickness between 3 mm and 50MM.

In an embodiment the third layer has a thickness between 1 mm and 20 mm.

In an embodiment the sleeping device further comprises at least onecover layer. This protects the layer of phase change material

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following, preferred embodiments of the invention will bedescribed referring to the figures, where

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a sleeping device being a mattressaccording to the present invention,

FIG. 2 illustrates another embodiment of a sleeping device in the formof a mattress according to the present invention,

FIG. 3 illustrates the functionality of the sleeping device according tothe present invention,

FIG. 4 illustrates the human body temperature variations when using asleeping device according to the present invention compared to the humanbody temperature variations when using prior art sleeping devices,

FIG. 5 illustrates a further embodiment of a sleeping device-accordingto the-present invention,

FIG. 6 illustrates a further embodiment of a sleeping device accordingto the present invention,

FIG. 7 illustrates the functionality of the sleeping device according tothe embodiment of the sleeping device illustrated in FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates a sleeping device according to the present invention.The mattress 101 is in contact with a large part of the human body 103during sleep. A cross section of the mattress 101 is illustrated at 102.The mattress comprises a core element 105, e.g. a support element basedon foam and/or springs, wherein the core element is covered by a firstlayer of a material having temperature regulating properties such asphase change material 107 and a second layer of spacer material 109

As an alternative, a top mattress to be placed on top of an existingspring based mattress could comprise the second layer of spacer materialand the first layer of temperature regulating material. Further, a layercould be provided above the temperature regulating material 107 toprotect the temperature regulating layer.

In FIG. 2, another embodiment of a sleeping device according to thepresent invention is illustrated, here beside the first layer oftemperature regulating material 207, the mattress comprises a thirdlayer of down 201 positioned between the spacer material layer 209 andthe core element 205.

In FIG. 3, the functionality of the sleeping device according to thepresent invention is illustrated. The, human body is illustrated at 301,the temperature regulating material is illustrated at 303 and the spacermaterial layer is illustrated at 305. When the temperature of the humanbody 301 increases, the extra heat is stored in the temperatureregulating layer 303, and the body temperature is lowered. When the bodytemperature of the human body 301 decreases, the stored extra heat isreleased from the temperature-regulating layer 303 whereby the bodytemperature is raised. Further, the spacer material layer makes itpossible for air circulation, which minimizes moist from thesurroundings and moist released from the human body 301.

In FIG. 4, the human body temperature variations when using sleepingdevices according to the present invention are compared to the humanbody temperature variations when using prior art sleeping devices. Onthe horizontal axis the time is shown, and on the vertical axis the bodytemperature is shown. The body temperature when using a prior artsleeping device is illustrated by the curve 405, whereas the bodytemperature when using a sleeping device according to the presentinvention is illustrated by the curve 403. Further, the interval 401 onthe vertical axis is the interval defined as the optimal sleepingtemperature. By using a sleeping device according to the presentinvention, the body temperature variations are minimized and kept withinthe optimal sleeping temperature interval 401, whereas when using aprior art sleeping device large temperature variations occur.

In FIG. 5, another embodiment of a sleeping device according to thepresent invention is illustrated, here, besides the first layer oftemperature regulating material 507, the mattress comprises a thirdlayer and a fourth layer of spacer material 501, 503 on each side of thecore element 505.

In FIG. 6, a further embodiment of a sleeping device according to thepresent invention is illustrated; here cover layers 601, 603 arepositioned as the outer parts on each side of the mattress

In FIG. 7, the: functionality of the sleeping. device according to theembodiment of the sleeping device shown-in FIG. 6 is illustrated. The,human body is illustrated at 701, the temperature regulating, Materialis illustrated at 703 and the down layer is illustrated at 705. Further,the third. and fourth layers of spacer material 707, 709 are illustratedon each side of the core element 708. When the temperature of the, humanbody 701 increases, the extra heat is stored by the temperatureregulating layer 703, and the body temperature is lowered.

When the body temperature of the human body 701 decreases, the storedextra heat is released from the temperature regulating layer 703 wherebythe body temperature is raised. Further, the down layer, being a veryeffective moist absorber, absorbs moist from the surroundings and moistreleased from the human body 701. The spacer material layers 707, 709allow air circulation through the mattress and thereby further minimizethe amount of moist.

The mattresses can be filled uniquely, e.g. based on the climate inwhich the mattress is to be used and based on the comfort temperature ofthe person intending to use the mattress.

In the above description, mattresses comprising down filling aredescribed. In this connection the word down relates to both down,feathers or a combination thereof and should therefore be interpretedcorrespondingly.

Examples have been given where the sleeping device is a mattress,alternatively the sleeping device could also be a pillow or a quilt andother elements having contact with a user during sleep. In case of apillow the core element could be the inner down filled core or it couldbe a foam piece in case of a foam pillow. In case of a quilt the coreelement could be a piece of core fabric or it could be the inner downfilled core.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments illustraterather than limit the invention, and that those skilled in the art willbe able to design many alternative embodiments without departing fromthe. scope of the appended claims. In the .claims, any reference signsplaced between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim.The word ‘comprising’ does not exclude the presence of other elements orsteps than those listed in a claim. The invention can be implemented bymeans of hardware comprising several distinct elements, and by means ofa suitably programmed computer. In a device claim enumerating severalmeans, several of these means can be embodied by one and the same itemof hardware. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutuallydifferent dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of thesemeasures cannot be used to advantage.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mattress comprising: a support element, whereinsaid support element is covered by a first layer of a material havingtemperature regulating properties by absorbing and releasing heat and asecond layer of spacer material; said spacer material comprised of adistance mesh positioned directly beneath said first layer, wherein saidspacer material allows air circulation from the surroundings directlybeneath said first layer; and where the temperature regulating materialcomprises a phase change material.
 2. The mattress according to claim 1,wherein the mattress further comprises a third layer of down.
 3. Themattress according to claim 2, wherein the mattress further comprises afourth layer of spacer material, said fourth layer positioned on theopposite site of the support element than the second layer, whereby eachspacer material covers each side of said support element.
 4. A mattressaccording to claim 2, wherein the third layer of down comprises goosedowns.
 5. A mattress as in one of claim 1, wherein the second layer hasa thickness between 3 and 50 mm.
 6. A mattress as in one of claim 2,wherein the third layer has a thickness between 1 mm and 20 mm.
 7. Amattress as in one of claim 1, wherein the mattress further comprises atleast one cover layer.